Livestock car shutter structure



d- 1951 J. M. COYNER LIVE STOCK CAR SHUTTER STRUCTURE Filed July 14 Patented Oct. 9, 1951 UNITE I): STAT E is PATENT OFFICE LIVESTOCK CAR SHUTTERTESTRUCTURE James M.1Coyncr, Madison; Wis. Application J uly'14, 1948;:SerialrNo238flII This iinventionrelateslto rlive stock car rshutter structurersBgirlive stock can: I'mean a railway car, truck or other vehicleifh'alving slats along -its' side iwa lls for the ventilation of 'the car, etc;i

Livei stock requirerabundant; ventilationazduri; ingitheihotmonthss 5 "Frequently; lack of ventilatiori inhot weatherxcauseslive stock to lose weight audi'sometimesideath is? "causediby'ssufio'cation: or overiheating: on theiotheriahand'; in ztheflcol'd months; the' am'ountzof iventil'ation fipr'ovided-i by theispacedslatsonfstockrcars isentir'elytoo great, andtthe dr-iving snowf'rain and cold winds' cause severe inju'ry to theanimals 'bein'g:':shippedz To meet ttheabove 'situastion, some :shippers en deavor :to protect lth'eir live stock fromrthe icold by-tliningthe cars with: paper or by nailing slats over the open spaces infithe car wall'si Such pro: tection is not satisfactory becausethere is usually not enough time to collect material and to attach the: necessary protectioms'trips to the I carz-safter loading: The'icost ofxinate'rialtand llaborztis high; the liningzis' often destroyed by the 'live' stock; and sometimes the animals are injured by .the' improvisedlinings? Finally;- the weathervmayschange suddenly and a removal'of the.liningsncannotbe accomplished quickly enough to protect the live stock fromr-sufiocationland over heating... In long travel- =acr0ss :the country, such relatively wide changes lint temperature occur, and. suchllinings are impracticable to meet such changes in weather conditions.

An object of the present invention is to "providefa' live 'stock'carstructure inwhich' the ventilation openings maybe quickly adjusted-to provide the desired ventilation and to exclude "air currents, rain; "driving "snowpetc'. "Another object is-to'providdacarshutter structured-extremely sturdy'constructionwhich'can be readily operated inventiong-l igsz, am enlarged, 'detailed sectional view;thesectionsbeing.takenasindicated at line 2 of Fig.2ltthe shutters"beingdn lowered position; Figa3, a viewj similar-to .F-ig; 2,-but showing -the shutters in raised car-closed postion; Fig.4, an'enlarged;.-transverse,- sectional, detailed view; the section beingitaken as i-ndicated-atlineA of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is an elevational view of the shutter I3.-

In :-the:- illustration givenr A designates-a railwayearn having its side walls provided withslats indicatedebyt the-numeral All. It will be understood :that'ratruck or any other vehicle may-doe equipped with-the.- shutters and operated as the railwaycar illustrated in the drawing.

In the specific illustration given, therailway car-is equippedwithan intermediate floor 'I has shownin- Eigsszandn3, was to form two horizontal (compartments in which animals may be placedior shipment. Each-of the compartments is; provided..-with a Side-1001 I 2 through which ther-animalsfl-maysbe admitted, as =illustrated in Fig. 1. It twill be understood, howeven-that the railway oar or-eother iorm of'live stock car, may have a single compartment; In the hauling of hogs-andsheep it is-customary to divide the rail-e way car into two compartments-while in the handling-of-largen animalssuchas cattle, the railwaycar-hasasinglecompartment, For the purpose .zof .-illustration-,-lthe; inventionwill he dc scribed-in-connection'with thelive stock car illustrated in which two compartments are formed.

to effect 'a eontrolof "ventilation within-the car whilefat the same time; avoiding proj cation of providedywith. an; outwardly: extending flange 15,

Assillustratedbestin-Figs- 1, 2 and 5, shutter strips or louver-boards l 3 are connected in spaced relationslayetheemetal straps 44.- --The shutter stripsgorsheets :'-.|3smay-:be formed of sheet metal or other suitable material. In the specific illustration given, the -'*strips -l3 are welded to the metaLstrapsM. .If desired, theends of the strips or..louvers ll3lmayrbelcupped about the'ends of .thelend-.straps..,l.so as .-to form areinforcement. However anyemeansiof attachment of the strips [3 :tOtth BwStFapS..l4 maylbe vemployed and, if de- ,siredgtherstrips maylbe formed of plastic, wood or any suitabletypepf material.

Each of the shutter. strips l 3 has its upper-end asshownmore clearlyrin Figs. .2 to 5 inclusive.

The :shutter. strips I3 or the straps l4 7 may ber'guideds for vertical :movement by any. suitable; means .-.In:-'the-specific illustration given,

I provideZ-shaped bars 1 6 which: are separated froms the-:slats- Ni byyspacer members .or washers l 1, andia-bolt l 8 extends'through; a flange ;ofthe Z-member:.-I6-, =washer ..l I; and thei slata l0. ;.In

wamcanequipp'ed:withsstructurcsi' embodying my 1.5 t e fi ustrat neiv n -{Af h :Z m m s each resting upon the adjacent slat ID.

[6 are spaced apart to provide a guide chamber l9 therebetween and adapted to receive a stabilizing slide member 20. V

The stabilizing slide member is equipped with a forwardly extending link 2| adapted to support a trough 22, as shown more clearly in Fig. 2. The trough 22 and the means for elevating the same, are shown more clearly in my co-pending application Serial No. 31,985, filed June 9, 1948.

The outer ends of the Z members i6, as shown more clearly in Fig. 4, provide guide recesses into which the shutters l3 and the end straps l4 extend. Thus, the shutter strips l3 normally lie in parallel horizontal alignment with the slats [0, as shown more clearly in Fig. 2, and the outwardly extending flanges l5 rest upon the tops of the slats to support the shutters l3 thereon.

7 Any suitable means for effecting vertical movement of the shutter members l3 may be provided. In the illustration given, I provide the straps M with flexible elements 23 which may be in the nature of chains, cables, link chains or any other suitable material. In the specific illustration given, the elements 23 consist of chains and are passed over sprockets 24 fixed upon a shaft 25.

At the ends of the car or, if desired, at any intermediate portion thereof, flexible elements 23 may be passed over sprockets 24 and provided with counter weights 26 or any other desired counterbalance means. housed within enclosures 21 which may be within the car or exterior of the car walls.

The shaft may be connected to an actuating shaft 28 by worm and gear connections, as shown more clearly in Fig. 3, and the actuating shaft 28 may extend exteriorly of the car and may be provided with an operating wheel 29. Any suitable means for rotating the shaft 25 may be employed. The worm and gear connections are particularly advantageous in that they-retain the shutters at any desired elevated position without the necessity of latching the members in position.

If desired, the counter weights may be omitted. Further, any suitable mechanism for raising and lowering the flexible elements 23 may be employed. The shaft 25 may be equipped with squared or polygonal ends for receiving a wrench or other means for rotating the shaft to elevate,

the shutters to a desired height and a pawl and ratchet means may be employed for supporting the shutters releasably in their desired positions.

Operation The weights 26 may be the shutter strips or louvre boards [3 normally lie in the position in which they are shown in Fig. 2 with the outwardly turned flange l5 of Should any of the elevating apparatus hereinafter referred to break, the shutter strips will fall to this position in which the spaces between the slats are opened, thus avoiding any possibility of smothering or over heating of the live stock.

Should the temperature drop, or should driv- "ing snows, rain or cold winds be encountered, the car attendant may rotate the actuating shaft 28 so as to turn shaft 25 and sprocket wheel 24 for elevating the flexible elements 23 and straps M. This operation, if carried to its limit, brings the flange l5 of each shutter strip against the bottom of the'slat Ii) thereabove, as shown '75 r than the width of the slats and having at its best in Fig. 3. If a fully closed position is not desired, the operator may raise the shutter strips so that the flange I5 is at an intermediate point between the slats. Upon releasing the operating wheel 29, shafts 25 and 28 remain stationary by reason of their worm and gear connections. The counter weight [6 is preferably a little less in weight than the weight of the shutter and strap structure so that if movement should occur during motion of the car, the weight of the shutters and straps will drive them downwardly to the open position illustrated in Fig. 2. The open position is the least dangerous, since there is always danger of smothering and over heating if the ventilation spaces are closed, and it is, therefore, desired that should there be a breakage or accidental movement of the elevating mechanism, the shutter strips will always seek the position shown in Fig. 2.

To restore the elevated shutter strips l3 to their initial position, the operator can readily turn the wheel 29 and, thereby, lower the shutters to the position shown in Fig. 2.

The apparatus is extremely compact, and the shutters are held snugly against the adjacent slats to prevent rattling. No projecting parts are provided which would injure animals or provide a hazard for railway traflic. The shutters can be moved to any desired position in an extremely brief time, and to meet any sudden change in weather conditions. In case of accident or breakage, the shutters will always fall to the open position illustrated in Fig. 2 in which there is the least possibility of harm to the live stock.

In the practice of the present invention, a single shutter strip may be employed or any desired number of shutter strips may be used. The number of shutters desired will vary with different types of cars. For the type of railway car illustrated, it is usually found that the three shutters illustrated for each compartment will be sufficient for controlling the ventilation of the compartment.

While in the foregoing specification I have set forth certain structures in considerable detail for the purpose of illustrating the invention, it will be understood that such details of structure may be varied widely by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a livestock car having side walls equipped with spaced horizontal slats, a plurality of horizontal shutters, said shutters having their upper edges equipped with flanges extending forward- .ly into the space between said slats, means for raising and lowering said shutters in the space between said slats and including a depending strap secured to said shutters at spaced distances to support said shutters in spaced relation, said shutters having a width not substantially greater than the width of said slats whereby, when said shutters are allowed to drop, the top flanges of said shutters suspend said shutters behind said slats to open the spaces between the slats, and vertically-extending guide members carried by said car side walls and providing vertical guide recesses receiving the ends of said shutters, the ends of said shutters being supported within said guide recesses by said strap.

2. In a livestock car having side walls equipped with spaced horizontal slats, a plurality of shutters, each having a width not substantially greattop edge an outwardly-extending flange which extends into the space between the slats, guide means carried by said slats and comprising vertical members providing vertical recesses and-.receiving the ends of said shutters to guide said shutters in a vertical plane, and means for raising and lowering said shutters and including a vertical strap secured to said shutters at spaced points to support said shutters in spaced relation and the ends of the shutters within said vertical recesses.

3. In a livestock car having side walls equipped with spaced horizontal slats, a plurality of horizontal shutters secured together in spaced i-elationship, said shutters having their upper portions provided with flanges extending intdithe space between said slats, vertical members carried by said slats and providing guide recesses adapted to receive the end portions of said shutters and to guide them in a plane parallel, with said slats, and means for raising said shutters into a position above said slats to close spaces between the slats and including a vertical1rextending strap secured to said shutters at spaced points to support said shutters in spaced relation and to support the ends thereof within said guide recesses, said shutters, when permitted to fall, being suspended by the flanges thereof upon the slats below and opening the spaces between the slats.

4. In a livestock car having side walls equipped with spaced slats, a plurality of shutters equipped at their upper ends with laterally-extendin flanges adapted to be received within the spaces between said slats; whereby, when said shutters are released. they become suspended by the flanges thereof upon the slats therebelow, vertical Z-shaped members secured tothe slats and providing guide" recesses adapted to receive the ends of said' shutters and to guide thernin a plane parallel with'the said slats, rigid strips secured to said shutters to maintain them in spaced relation and to support the ends of said shutters in said guide recesses, and flexible elements secured to said strips for raising and lowering the shutters.

JAMES M. COYNER.

REFERENCES crrnn The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Munro et a1. July 18, 1939 

